Dawn of Victory
by NajikaKitsawa
Summary: A mission to guard the Lady of the Land of Petals from... the monks never said. Team 7: Naruto, Sakura, Sai. I tried to add a little haha moment in the end- let me know how it came out Well, hope ya'll like it!


**Dawn of Victory**

Naruto's eyes felt heavy as he stared into the shadows of the palace gardens. This whole mission was stupid, and what the hell was up with those cryptic instructions they'd gotten:

"_During the night of the winter solstice an evil darkness shall surround the palace. It is your duty to ensure that the princess of Petals remains inside her room until sunrise, and to stop anyone who might try to near her. No one must go near her until dawn._

_There are seals pasted to each of the entrances as well as windows and a protective seal in front of each of the three doors—"_

_"Then why do you need us?" Naruto had asked, but the old monk had ignored him: "It would be best for you all to remain within the seals at all times—unless the situation requires that you exit it."_

Naruto scoffed. Stay in that tiny two and a half square foot seal all night? _Yeah right._ He stepped out of it and sat by the edge of the balcony, holding a kunai loosely in his hand.

A dark figure slithered across the dark room and peeked out the window. She smiled wickedly, licking her lips, as her eyes fell on the sleepy, azure eyed ninja sitting just outside the seal.

"Must… stay… awake…" Naruto muttered as a soft melody danced through the air and into his ears. Suddenly, his eyes glazed over as the siren's song wound itself around his mind:

"_Come my savior,_

_Come my prince,_

_Set me free,_

_From the cage I am in._

_Set me free my hero,_

_Come to me,_

_And set me free…"_

"What a pretty voice…" the boy murmured- stupefied- as everything but that bittersweet melody faded away from existence.

An image began to take form in his head as he heard the song: A beautiful lady with long, glossy, dark green hair, sparkling violet eyes, and cherry blossom lips sat in an empty room, with nothing but a small golden harp, singing sadly as she stared out the window.

-G

Sakura sat, curled up inside the seal, staring up at the full moon, shining brightly against the dark autumn sky. The night was so quiet, not even the leaves from the trees in the garden stirred. She wondered how the other two were doing. Sai would probably be painting something in his new sketchbook, and knowing Naruto, he'd probably fallen asleep. She yawned—everything was so quiet, so peaceful… What had that old monk meant by an evil darkness? Nothing seemed out of the ordinary… She yawned again… _Oh God, I'm going to fall asleep if nothing happens soon… How the heck does this count as an A-Rank mission, anyway? I wonder why the princess of Petals can't be seen by anyone until dawn… Oh, whatever…_

-G

Sai put down his sketchbook and brush. Something felt odd, though he couldn't quite figure out what it was. His midnight eyes scanned the darkness of the gardens around the temple, yet, he found nothing. He took his sketchbook and once more began to paint. Still, the feeling that there was something strange in the air never left him.

-G

The blond ninja stood in a daze and walked up to the room's door. He ripped the seal from the door and entered the dark alcove, searching for the siren.

Sitting, just like in his vision, on the middle of the empty room's floor was the beautiful princess. Her long, dark hair fell past her waist; her violet eyes gleamed with happiness as she saw him, and her soft pink lips moved slowly as she sang her bewitching melody. Her alabaster skin glowed against the black velvet of her kimono.

"Princess…" Naruto muttered sleepily, as he knelt in front of her.

The lady took his hands and smiled, "You've come to set me free from this wretched prison, have you not?"

The fox nodded, unable to think of anything except pleasing the beautiful princess, "Anything for you, my princess."

"Good," she whispered, still smiling, as her handsome features became horrible and malignant. Her long, lustrous hair became a wild, ragged mane; her sparkling violet eyes turned obsidian; her soft pink lips parted in a wicked smile, revealing a pair of long, pointed fangs. But Naruto couldn't see these horrifying changes; in his hypnotized eyes, she was still the beautiful lady singing for him to save her. "Now my prince, will you free me from this cage?"

"Yes, my princess." He took her long, claw-like fingers in his, though to him they felt as soft and delicate as rose petals, and tried to steer her to the temple's entrance but she would not move. "Come, princess."

"Alas, I cannot exit this prison so easily. But you may still free me." She sat and taking his hand, sat him next to her. The lady's melody began again and Naruto's eyes became duller, and more lost in nothingness, as her spell took full hold of him. In the boy's mind, nothing else existed outside of the beautiful princess and her song.

"At last I shall be free. Free from this accursed prison, and free from those accursed monks." She opened her mouth slightly, licking her pointed fangs, as she stared at the young ninja's neck and heard the rhythmic beating of his heart- the steady flow of blood running through his veins.

Suddenly she screamed, as a kunai flew past her, slicing across the flesh of her cheek before burying into the wall behind her. The woman hissed and turned, with reflexes as fast a cobra's, towards the open door, glaring malevolently at the raven haired boy in black and the green eyed girl in red who'd just entered.

"Of all the stupid things you could do, Naruto!" Sakura scolded, "The monks said no one could near-"

"Don't waste your breath," Sai interrupted. "Look at his eyes, he's not really there. Whatever that _thing_ is, she's got him hypnotized."

"Oh, my sweet prince," the creature spoke to Naruto in the most beautiful of voices, "do you see these monsters? Look how they've come to harm me! Oh, will you protect me from them? Say you will."

Naruto stood; his stance was like that of a beast about to attack, as he faced the other two leaf ninjas, "How dare you harm my princess?!"

He rushed at them, and launched a set of shuriken against each of his squad members. Sai and Sakura each jumped out of the way, avoiding the attack. Naruto turned and charged in Sakura's direction, kunai at hand, really to kill.

"Naruto, it's me, Sakura!" she called out as she dodged his attacks, ignoring her body's command to fight back. At the same time, Sai drew out a scroll and summoned his ink creations to attack the lady, who screamed, making Naruto veer in her direction to take on Sai's assault. The creatures rammed the spellbound ninja against the wall.

"No!" Sakura screamed as she rushed next to Sai. "That's Naruto! Don't hurt him!" The onyx eyed ninja pushed her aside, but failed to evade the kunai that had been meant for her, hissing as the blade sunk into his forearm.

"Shadow-Clone-Jutsu," Naruto exclaimed, as he freed himself from Sai's creations, making three more orange clad ninja's appear in the dark room. The first two clones went after the injured Sai, while Naruto and the third clone attacked Sakura. The green eyed ninja managed to dodge the clone's attack, but in doing so tripped, giving the fox an opportunity to sucker-punch her in the gut. But, just as the blow connected, Sakura disappeared in a cloud of smoke, replaced by a tattered piece of wood. Naruto noticed her a second too late, and Sakura landed a kick right in his face. Surprisingly, he too vanished in with a poof in a cloud of smoke; Sakura cursed as she realized he'd fooled her. She spun around just as Naruto leaped at her.

-G

Sai fended off the attacks of both clones, but with his left arm bleeding at a constant pace, there wasn't much he could do. He managed to stab one of the clones, which disappeared in a small cloud of smoke, but the other one used the smoke to sneak closer to the raven haired boy and punched him. Sai flew backwards and rolled onto the floor- the blood from his wound smearing the temple's floor.

The succubus screamed savagely as her eyes fell on Sai's blood, her long pointed tongue lolling out of her mouth as she salivated at the sight of the scarlet liquid. She sprang in his direction, with bared fangs, intending to bite the wounded ninja, but he rolled out of her way.

Sai summoned one of his creations.

The ink raven flew straight into the creature's face, blinding her with its dark ink. "Damn you!" she howled as she tried to wipe the dark liquid from her eyes.

-G

Sakura covered her face as she flew through the broken window and crashed into one of the balcony's pillars. _Damn! At this rate he'll kill me! _"Snap out of it, Naruto!" she yelled as he jumped through the whole in the wall after her.

Sakura pulled her feet up. _This is going hurt me a lot more than it's going to hurt you!_ Just as Naruto reached her, she slammed them hard against his face. He soared through the air, smashing through the wall and finally landing in a pile of rubble inside the temple.

-G

The lady cornered Sai- he'd already lost too much blood keep dodging her. She seemed angry, "Stop moving- damn it! I'm hungry!" She stepped closer, pinning him against the wall. "I've waited for so long to be free from this damn prison, and now, after I drain your blood, I'll finally be able to." She cackled, "Your blood and your chakra will empower me to break the seals that keep me trapped, and I shall finally be able to reap my revenge on the world!"

Like a snake, she lashed forward, sinking her teeth in the pale skin of Sai's neck. She pulled away, disgusted and enraged as her prey melted away into a pool of glossy black ink, and spat the foul tasting liquid.

-G

Sai breathed heavily as he crouched underneath the window. The cool night air made him shiver while he created a makeshift bandage for his arm with a tattered piece of cloth. He bit his lip to keep from whimpering. Sai strained to listen: there was a rustling sound behind him and he spun around, ready to strike.

Sakura recoiled, avoiding Sai's attack, and put her finger to her mouth, warning him to keep quiet.

-G

A seductive melody flowed through the air, its gentle touch coiling around the fox, awakening him at his mistress's command:

"_Come to me, my prince,_

_Come stand by my side,_

_Listen to my voice,_

_As you obey my sweet command,_

_Come to me,_

_I summon thee,_

_Come to me…"_

Naruto stirred as the music called him forth from unconsciousness. His pure cerulean eyes fluttered open, revealing a short-lived liberation from the siren's hex, but before the lady's verse ended, the spellbound fog rolled back in. As he stood, in Naruto's mind there existed nothing more than the will of the lady.

-G

Sai doubled over, gasping and clenching his fists as he struggled against the call of the lady's song; he felt as if everything in the world around him were darkening, disappearing- everything but that unearthly melody. He screamed as he struggled against the siren's call, rebelling against the command screamed by every fiber of his body: _Surrender._

"Sai!" the pink haired girl shrieked, horrified. "Sai, what's wrong?"

"That song- Sakura don't let me hear it!" Sai covered his ears. Tremors ran down his body. _She's calling me…the princess- I must go to her… NO!_

"What do you mean?" She put her hands on his shoulders and stared into his dark eyes, "What song?!"

"Her song… That infernal spell- can't you here it?! Sakura- she's- she's a…" He convulsed again, "I can't face her… I can barely keep from falling to her spell- Sakura- You say you can't hear her… That means only _you_ can get close enough to kill her-

"But-"

"Listen to me! That's why Uzumaki attacked us- that's what was wrong with him! He's under… You have to stop her from- from- Ah! Siren! Succubus! Vampire! Get out of my head! She said t- that, for her to get out of the temple she'd need blood- Naruto's still in there- ugh! Get that idiot… out- of- there!"

Sakura could see the pain of his struggle, and she knew he was right. At this point neither of them knew for how long Sai could hold of the lady's spell, but Sakura doubted even he could resist it indefinitely. "Stay here," she ordered, drawing a kunai from her purse. "If I get her, then her hex will wear off, right?" She gasped as he looked up at her: his face was twisted into a malignant grimace.

"My lady calls. I really mustn't keep her waiting. She wishes to be free."

"Sai, snap out of it!" But she knew he couldn't hear her. His face held the same expression as Naruto's had. Sakura drew back her fist, "This is for your own good," and slammed it hard against his face.

Sai slumped onto the floor, out like a light.

She sighed, "Let's hope you stay under longer than Naruto."

-G

The fox stood motionless in front of the lady. His face held no emotions and his sapphire gaze seemed emptier than ever before, "Anything for you, my princess."

The siren opened her arms, "_Come to me_..."

-G

"NO!" Sakura screamed as she raced in Naruto's direction. The succubus bared her fangs and looked up at her; triumph filled her evil face.

All of a sudden Sakura couldn't move, not out of fear or dread, but because Sai's arms had suddenly wrapped around her body. She struggled against his steel grip, unable to understand, not only how he'd woken up so soon, but also how he could still be so strong after both losing so much blood as well as getting a full blow from her. "Sai, let go!"

"Now, now, stop squirming. Hmm," she tapped her chin, "what am I to do with you? A woman is of no use to me… so I guess I'll just kill you after I'm done with my first course." The lady laughed, lifting Naruto's chin. She ran her finger down his neck, and looked back up at Sakura. "Yes, I'll kill you, and then have dessert," she added, looking at Sai.

The creature leaned down over her fair-haired captive, parting her lips as her teeth sunk into the boy's skin.

Sakura slumped onto her knees, tears running down her face, as she stared at the horrible scene unraveling before her: Naruto's body trembling, nearly convulsing, and then ceasing to move; his skin growing paler as the succubus drained his life. Then something strange started to happen.

It was as if the lady were choking. Sakura could hear a retching sound coming from her, and noticed that the creature started to twitch.

She pushed the boy away from herself, gagging and clutching her throat. An ear splitting screech escaped her mouth, making Sakura, and even Sai, wince.

"Princess!" the artist pushed Sakura aside and rushed to the siren's side as she screamed.

Sakura pushed herself up and reached out for Naruto, praying that he'd still be alive. She gasped at the sight horrible wound in his neck healing almost instantly as it emanated the kyubi's scarlet chakra. She sighed in relieve, and turned around to see the demon woman's blood stained face (it was Naruto's blood) smoldering, almost as if the garnet liquid were burning her- in fact, it _was_ burning her.

The succubus shrieked and howled as her alabaster skin was consumed by the blaze, slowly, and agonizingly, turning her face dark and even more deformed. Soon the rest of her body followed, until there was nothing but a charred, skeleton-like creature with straw-like, snow white hair, and onyx eyes. "Poison!" she hissed, pointing her long fingers at Naruto.

Sai closed his eyes, rubbing his temples. He seemed dizzy, singing from side to side, before falling down on one knee. The ninja looked up and his eyes widened at the sight of the hideous creature in front of him. Part of him felt stupid as he scolded himself for having allowed the siren to bewitch him. The other part struggled to remain conscious.

"Sai… Are you back?"

"Wow, hag," he winced, "there _is_ someone uglier than you."

_He's back…_

The lady snarled, "No! But no worries- I'll have you under my spell soon enough!" She opened her mouth to sing again- Sai covered his ears, and Sakura covered Naruto's- but when the melody came out, rather than the enchanting tunes from before- the creature's voice was raspy and off-key, "My voice! My beautiful song is gone! I will kill you all for this, and with your blood, return my might! First, the woman and the brat that caused me to burn!"

But just at that moment, the light of the rising morning sun shone through the shattered windows, zeroing on the monster like a search light.

Naruto stirred and opened his eyes, just in time to see the horrible being bending over as she tried to escape the light. He sat up, "What the hell?!"

The succubus didn't even scream, as she opened her mouth only a wet gagging sound came, then nothing as she fell, convulsing on the floor. The three ninjas stared, their emotions raging from disgust to a morbid fascination. Suddenly, they saw, the creature's charred hide began to lighten as it was replaced by flawless, soft, alabaster skin. Her frizzled white hair fell off, and long, glossy dark hair replaced it. Little by little, the hideous being disappeared, replaced by the beautiful maiden from before. Finally, the charred remains of her black kin=mono disappeared, replaced by a beautiful white dress. Then it was over, and in front of them, laid the unmoving figure of the beautiful princess of the Land of Petals.

"She…" Naruto muttered. He closed his eyes as his muddled mind labored to remember the past night's events.

"She's beautiful…" Sakura whispered, seeing the princess's true face for the first time. "But… is she dead?"

As if on cue, the princess took a deep breath, like the kind you take after being under water for too long. Her eyes fluttered open and she sat, staring into the bewildered faces of the three ninjas. Then she looked at herself, her arms, her dress, feeling her long lustrous hair. Her face glowed with happiness and she jumped at Sakura. For a moment the others thought the princess was attacking her, but then they noticed she was hugging the girl, and weeping. "Thank you! Oh my God, thank you so much, mistress ninja! I can't believe it! It's finally over!

A group of monks and servants entered the temple, "She still lives!" one of the servants called out the door. "Master, Lady Akitaya still lives!"

A tall, strong, old man entered the room and the princess ran to his side, "Papa! It is really over!"

The squad stood, bowing slightly to the lord of Petals, and the man bowed back. 'A celebration is in place!" the lord exclaimed as he and his daughter exited, followed by an entourage.

_You've got to be kidding me. What about us?_ Naruto and Sai thought in unison.

Suddenly the party stopped and the lord turned around, "Well? What are you all standing there for? I said a celebration was in order. Come, you three."

Sakura obeyed and walked forward then stopped, noticing that neither Sai nor Naruto were following.

"What are you two waiting for? Come on."

The boys looked at each other and slumped to the floor, unconscious. Sakura rushed next to them, suddenly scared, but as soon as she reached them noticed that they were alive and… well, snoring. "What the hell?"

The princess peeked over Sakura's shoulder, "I'm guessing that's my fault… sorry… Don't worry, papa's servants will take them inside and fix them up. Now you come, it's an hour long walk from here to our palace- You don't want to fall behind."

_It's an hour long walk…_ Sakura thought horrified. _But I'm so tired… _Suddenly, all the exhaustion from the previous hours hit her and she felt her knees buckling. Before her head hit the floor, she too was long gone.

Lady Akitaya stared at them, "Oh come on. How tired could you be?" She sighed and left the room as her servants ran inside to get the other three. "Honestly, you'd think shinobi wouldn't be so sleepy… Whatever."

The gang smiled and waved goodbye to the lord of Petals until they were out of sight. Once they'd gotten far away though, their forced smiles melted away.

"Thirteen hours, twenty-two minutes, and forty-three seconds… torture."

"Hag, you actually counted the time we were in the palace?" Sai raised an eyebrow.

"I swear it seemed longer," Naruto groaned. "God, I think I liked her better as a monster!"

"Of course you did. You were in love with her," Sai snickered.

Naruto glared at him for a moment before speaking, "Look who's talking… Besides, we all saw how she _loved_ you back in the palace." He grinned, pleased to have something against the other guy.

Sai glared back.

Sakura groaned. "I swear, if I ever have to spend ONE more minute with that Lady Akitaya, I'm going to kill her. Plastic, obnoxious, pretentious-"

"Don't forget 'Sai-lover'," the fox added.

The artist smacked him and spoke, "Let's just agree that after we report to the Hokage, we will never speak of that woman- nay, this whole mission, EVER again."

They stopped for a moment, and looked at each other, "Agreed."


End file.
